New York Knicks: Why they are struggling with transition defense

The New York Knicks are currently one of the worst open floor defenses in the league. They are giving up 14.9 fast break points per game, fifth-most in the NBA. The Knicks’ struggles in the open floor are related to making bad decisions with the basketball on the offensive end of the court.

New York has fallen into a routine of giving the ball to the other team when they don’t have a clear path to the basket. For instance, Kemba Walker dribbled the ball up the court with a little over five minutes left to go in the second quarter of a home game against Toronto.

The catalyst behind the New York Knicks defensive struggles is transition

Once Walker got to the three-point line, he stayed there for a couple of seconds until Mitchell Robinson came up to set the screen. Walker would go over the screen and immediately pass the ball to Evan Fournier, who was standing behind the arc on the left wing.

Upon receiving the ball, Fournier decided to drive towards the basket. Unfortunately, as Fournier was getting into the paint, he got surrounded by Precious Achiuwa and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk. As a result, Fournier wanted to pass the ball to Walker, who had shifted over to the right corner.

However, Fournier’s pass was intercepted by Gary Trent Jr. Fournier’s careless decision with the basketball on this plays like this has contributed to New York being second in the league in turnovers, averaging 13.8 per game.

Turnovers have been the primary catalyst for the team’s defensive struggles in transition, as Knicks players don’t have the time to properly get in the right defensive alignment to defend this play type. For instance, Derrick Rose dribbled the ball up the right-wing in the second quarter of the same game against Toronto.

Upon getting to the three-point line, Rose immediately passed the ball to Alec Burks. Burks then passed the ball to Obi Toppin, and Toppin took a couple of steps towards the basket before stopping because Raptor’s backup center, Khem Birch, was in his way. The presence of Birch led Toppin to perform an ill-advised pass to Immanuel Quickley.

Unfortunately, Mykhailiuk was in the middle of him and Toppin, which allowed him to intercept the pass. Once Mykhailiuk stole the ball, he dribbled the basketball up the court with only one defender in front of him, which was Quickley. Mykhailiuk ended the possession with a layup over Quickley.

Offensive possessions like this have contributed to the Knicks being second in opponents’ points off turnovers, as opposing teams are averaging 13.7 points off of their mistakes.

Turnovers have also led to opponents shooting 53.1 percent in transition through nine games on 14.4 shots per game. They are averaging 21.2 points per game, putting the Knicks at eight-worst in the league.

The Knicks are holding opponents to 42.7 percent shooting on 90.9 attempts per game. Although opponents have been inefficient, they are still averaging 109 points per game, the 12th highest mark in the league.

If the transition statistics are removed, New York’s defensive numbers will look much better. Opponents would shoot 40.3 percent on 76.5 attempts per game. They would only average 88.8 points per game.

Therefore, if New York can stop being careless with the basketball, their defense in transition and defensive statistics should improve.